


The Calendar

by ceiling_mold



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Cliche, First Kiss, First Love, I Don't Even Know, Love Confessions, M/M, One Shot, Out of Character, like seriously, overly cliche
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28007784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceiling_mold/pseuds/ceiling_mold
Summary: Togami is usually pretty good at keeping his cool. But even he has a breaking point, and sometimes the only thing you can do is run.
Relationships: Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya
Comments: 4
Kudos: 80





	The Calendar

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written for YEARS, so I hope it's okay! Sorry if things get out of character, I'm still working on how to write them.

Togami ran down the street, the sound of his feet hitting the pavement echoing through the empty town. The buildings looked dark and gloomy in the dim, yellowish light of the streetlamps. He could feel his legs getting tired, which caused him to wonder exactly how long he’d been running for. It had been a pain to get past the endless security surrounding the estate, but a few harsh words had been enough to scare them off. 

Things like that served as reminders of the reality he was born into. Togami certainly wasn’t complaining. After all, it would be a shame if someone with countless potential like him was forced to become a commoner, a mere side character in the grand scheme. He would probably laugh if he wasn’t on the verge of passing out. That brought his mind back to his earlier thought. Why was he running? It wasn’t something he normally bothered with outside of school. Togami would much rather be reading. It wasn’t nearly as messy and involved considerably less sweating.

It had all started with reading, actually. Togami had been having a wonderful time reading the same book for the third time when his mind began to wander. That was what caused him to tear himself away. What was the point of reading such a wonderful book if he couldn’t focus? He nearly folded the corner of his page when his brain brought up a rather unpleasant memory (well, he had convinced himself it was negative). 

_\-----------------------------_

_“Hey, Togami!” Naegi came up, the same eager look he tended to wear blinding compared to the rather drab book he was reading._

_“What,” Togami said, folding the corner of the page into a neat dog ear and closing the cover._

_“Oh… I noticed you doing that earlier,” Naegi had his eyes locked on the book resting under his hand, and Togami raised an eyebrow as an invitation to continue. Naegi hesitantly reached into his coat pocket, taking out what looked like a small piece of paper._

_“Here. You don’t have to keep it if you don’t want to, you’ve probably got plenty of them back at your house anyway.” With that Naegi handed the object to him and turned on his heel, walking back out of the classroom. The only sign left of him was a skidding noise that Togami could (correctly) assume was him tripping over his own feet._ Did my antics finally drive him off? _Togami wondered as his footsteps faded._

_“What’s that?” Togami nearly jumped before he caught himself. Mondo had appeared out of nowhere when he was thinking._

_“It’s none of your business,” Togami snapped, hiding what turned out to be a bookmark in his pocket._

_“Alright, if ya say so...” Mondo looked like he was going to say something else, but it was then that Taka happened to enter the room and spare Togami from his fate. He ended up forgetting about the bookmark, continuing the day trying to get rather unpleasant (as he was still telling himself) thoughts out of his mind. He was able to successfully keep these thoughts away until he arrived in the safety of the library._

Although Togami would never admit it, he didn’t hate Naegi. In fact, he had a rather complicated mess of feelings surrounding him, tangling and mixing together like yarn. He hadn’t had the displeasure of beginning to untangle the meanings behind them until recently. The end of a thread had shown itself a few months ago, and Togami had foolishly pulled at it and changed the way his brain functioned. The space that would normally be taken up by classwork or an intriguing story was now filled with something else. Someone, to be specific. 

Togami hissed under his breath, pausing in his sprint. The town was lit up ahead, people moving between buildings and across roads. _I didn’t realize how far I’d gotten._ He had to be at least a mile from the estate. Image the impact on his reputation if someone saw him. Even though he was out of his normal clothes already for the night, it wasn’t completely unlikely he wouldn’t be recognized.

_ I have to stop letting things get to me. I can’t let myself be overcome by this.  _ It really was shameful that he had allowed his mind to be so tangled by mere feelings.  _ Just because he makes me feel that way.  _ What way? Togami raised a hand to his chest.  He felt his heartbeat pick up as he remembered the interaction from earlier.  _ What’s wrong with me? It must be because it’s late. I shouldn’t be running, it’s getting to my head.  _ Togami knew this wasn’t the case, but he wasn’t going to admit it. 

The blonde hesitantly reached for the bookmark, pulling it out to get a better look. It was simple, but neatly done. Naegi had obviously made it himself.  _ Why would he go through such a thing for someone like me, who acts so cold?  _ What was he thinking, why did it matter what Naegi did? It was none of his business. But as he looked at that stupid red and white striped bookmark, he couldn’t help but feel something. The blonde ran a finger over the corner, where his name was written in Naegi's slightly messy handwriting. 

Togami quickly went to put it away, but noticed something he hadn’t earlier. Another smaller, thinner piece of paper was taped to the back. He carefully peeled it off, but not because he cared about the bookmark, because why should he? It was just a refined scrap of paper. 

It turned out to be a letter. Togami straightened his glasses which had fallen slightly askew from his aimless running, holding the paper in the light of the streetlamp he had stopped next to. 

_ “Togami, _

_ I know this comes off as sudden and probably would have been easier to tell you through text, but I felt like a letter would be more meaningful especially since you won’t give me the time of day to talk about this in person. To make this simple, you know I like you. If you don’t feel the same I get it but I would like to at least know that so I don’t continue to tumble head over heels for someone who doesn’t feel the same in any way. Hopefully you read this all the way through but it wouldn’t surprise me if you didn’t. _

_ \- Naegi” _

Togami stood very still. Had he read that right? Naegi… felt that way about… him?  _ What am I even thinking? I shouldn’t even be imagining such things.  _ No matter how he denied it his brain continued imagining. That letter had brought everything he had been attempting to once again bury in the tangles and twists of his emotions scrambling to get back to the surface. Now it wouldn’t stop.  _ What happened to me?  _ Togami felt his breathing pick up. He shoved the note back with the bookmark in a way that was very unlike him, and glanced around. The people seemed to get closer, closing in. A gust of wind rustled his hair, momentarily obscuring his vision. The sound of a lone raindrop hitting the ground soon turned into many, and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed the clouds sooner. They were going to know, they were going to see his weakness and dig at it until there was nothing left. So, once again, he ran. He ran up the path he knew well, too well. The path that he and Naegi knew. 

_\-----------------------------_

_ They had discovered the spot when they were young, not yet old enough to be challenged by the rift of emotions and the expectation of society, not old enough to feel the weight of others bearing down on them.  _

_ “Hey! Slow down!” Togami ran faster, hearing Naegi struggle up the hill behind him. Togami reached the top first, standing haughtily over his competitor.  _

_ “It’s no fair, you’ve got longer legs. I was doomed from the start,” Naegi flopped down to his left, rolling into the shade of the tree that rose above the hill. It’s long, spreading branches reached across the sky, the yellowing leaves rustling slightly in the faint breeze. The air carried with it the smell of fall along with the dying leaves, sweeping over the hills.  _

_ Togami sat against the rough bark of the tree, pulling out his book and undoing the dog ear on his page. Naegi eventually got bored with mourning his loss and moved over to Togami, looking over his shoulder at the book.  _

_ “What?” Togami did his best to sound uninterested, a habit he was falling into that would stick.  _

_ “What’re you reading? Can you read it out loud?” Naegi said a little too loud next to his ear.  _

_ “Huh?” Togami turned away from his book momentarily. “You can read on your own. Why would I do it?” _

_ “Hmm… Because it’s fun?” Naegi said, lighting up at the idea.  _

_ “Fine, but only this once.” Togami sighed and turned back to his book, beginning to read. It wasn’t long before he felt a weight on his shoulder. He paused mid-sentence to turn to Naegi, who had fallen asleep. Togami allowed him to stay there, and if he smiled, nobody else was there to know.  _

_\-----------------------------_

Togami now ran up that same path, the rain fogging up his glasses. 

“Fuck!” Togami screeched in a very not Togami way, his feet sliding out from under him. He hadn’t seen the puddle due to his vision being obscured combined with the distractions his mind was throwing at him. He decided to lay on his back for a minute, letting his regrets sink in. Eventually he pushed himself up with a sigh, he continued up the path. Togami has decided that he was done running, the feeling of cold mud dripping down his back not mixing well with his mental turmoil. 

Togami was increasingly glad there was no one else around, because he would sooner die than be seen in this state. He was almost to the top of the hill when he was something he didn’t expect. A silhouette was outlined against the top of the hill, an outline that was a little too familiar for Togami’s liking.  _ The last person I want to see right now. Especially looking like this.  _ Togami once again knew that he did in fact want to see Naegi, but he wasn’t willing to let that be thought out. Or maybe it was still being held back inside the confines of his mind. Naegi turned around, his eyes widening as he recognized who was standing across from him. 

“T-Togami?” Naegi cocked his head to the side. “What’re you doing here? And what happened? Did you fall? Come here.”

“W-what?” Togami slapped a hand over his mouth. What was that? He didn’t stutter. He was Togami, and Togami would never do something so foolish. But as Naegi came closer, lifting one of his mud-soaked arms, Togami couldn’t help but feel something flutter in his chest at the sensation.  _ What? Why am I thinking like this? I can’t be thinking like this. It’s not who I am.  _ Togami’s glare had no real intent behind it and he locked eyes with Naegi. 

The rain was still pouring around them, the leaves of the tree being ripped off and blown away in the turmoil. It was nothing like that day those years ago. Perhaps it made sense, with their friendship slowly falling into chaos and malice along with the changing of the seasons. Togami wondered if it was really wise to be here, if he should just turn and run away. But the way Naegi was looking at him, like he’d rather be with nobody else even though they were practically standing in a small hurricane… It wasn’t something Togami had felt before. He’d never had a chance to have any real friends before Naegi, since everyone was driven away by his family or by Togami’s own words. 

But Naegi had stuck by all those years, and they had somehow ended up at the spot of their memories in the middle of a midnight storm. Togami glanced to the side, his brow furrowing as he spoke. 

“I got your letter.” He felt Naegi’s grip tense on his arm momentarily. The silence seemed deafening as the seconds ticked by, the rain and now thunder seeming like white noise compared to the sparks of tension flitting between them. Togami eventually looked up, hesitance barely showing through the mask he kept on. The other boy was only able to pick up on it due to being around the blonde for years. Naegi was still focused on the ground, his eyes shut tight. Togami breathed out through his nose slowly, considering his options. 

The grand turmoil of his mind has slowed down considerably, and it was really only focused on one thing now. Naegi.  _ I don’t know what to do. _ Somewhere along the way he had come to a conclusion, and his brain was screaming at him to act on it. 

“Ahh, it’s fine,” Naegi looked up nervously. “I can go.” He turned to leave, raising a hand to wave. Togami forced his to move hand forwards against the will of his own mind as Naegi kept talking. “I get it, and I promise I’ll stay away from you. You don’t have to tell me tw-mmph!” The white noise that the rain had turned into disappeared completely as Togami was ultimately terrified and completely occupied by the feeling of Naegi’s mouth against his own.  _ Why did I do that,  _ Togami thought hurriedly.  _ Why did I do that? What’s wrong with me.  _ Togami pulled back quickly, an actual  _ apology  _ (those were words Togami would never think he’d hear from himself) started to form in his mind. 

Before he could open his mouth Naegi snapped out of it and grabbed Togami’s face in a way that was a little too violent for his liking. 

“W-what was that?” Naegi hissed, staring at him. 

“...” Togami glanced to the side, his façade crumbling a little more. 

“You are so bad at keeping character!” Naegi then kissed him back way too hard, Togami holding back a hiss of pain as their teeth get smashed together.  _ I deserve it.  _ Togami is very bad at keeping character. He brought his hands up to Naegi’s shoulders. tilting his head and deepening the kiss, causing Naegi to push back against him eagerly. They separated after a while, Naegi still holding Togami’s face way too hard. Togami slowly opened his eyes. His mind was very tired.  _ Maybe I should’ve stayed home and read.  _ He was very glad he hadn’t. The wind had begun to pick up, a shiver racking his body. 

“Ohhh god!” Naegi buried his face in his hands. “Just hold on a second.” Togami watched in confusion as he went back to the base of the tree, pulling something out and moving behind Togami. It turned out to be his hoodie. 

“Wait, don’t you need this?” Togami asked. 

“Stop being nice,” Naegi reached around and poked his cheek before placing the coat over his shoulders. “It’s scary.” 

“I’m tired,” Togami did look very tired.  _ I don’t know what I’m gonna tell my parents. What will they think seeing me covered in mud, and on top of that wearing- _

“Wait.” 

“Yeah?” Naegi was back in front of him again, meeting Togami’s unsteady gaze. 

“Does this mean we’re…” he slowly pointed between them. “Uh… dating?” 

“U-uh, i-if that’s what you want!” Naegi stuttered. Togami blinked slowly. He needs to go to sleep. 

“Yeah. I think I would… like that.” Naegi relaxed at his response. Togami narrowed his eyes. “I know this is sudden, but do you think I can stay at your place?” 

“W-what?” Naegi flushed immediately. 

“My parents will not be happy if I come home like this. I can always stay at-”

“No, it’s okay!” Naegi placed a hand on his shoulder. “My parents won’t mind, and my sister isn’t a bother normally.” The shorter boy smiled warmly. Togami stood there for a few seconds. 

“Okay… thanks,” He said slowly. The shorter boy scowled and grabbed his wrist, dragging him down the path. 

“Stop acting so out of character!” 

**Author's Note:**

> I definitely got a little tired at the end, but I wanted to get the fic out in one go. It's actually partially based off some lyrics from the song The Calendar by Panic! At The Disco, since I'm very bad at coming up with names and I felt like it fit well with their dynamic. Thank you if you made it to the end, and feedback is greatly appreciated!


End file.
